This coffee-flavored meal replacement beverage is a new take on the Starbucks Frappuccino

Soylent announced on Tuesday that it's launching a
coffee-flavored version of its popular meal-replacement
milkshake. The bottled beverage, which will be called Coffiest,
is made with real coffee and contain all the nutritional goodness
of its predecessor, plus 150 milligrams of caffeine.

A quick Google search on "coffee Soylent" reveals that the
addition of caffeine isn't a revolutionary idea. There are
dozens of threads on Reddit and forums on the Soylent website in
which users share tips and tricks for combining the two
drinks. The company took notice.

"I read the community posts all the time," Rob Rhinehart,
cofounder and CEO of Soylent, tells Business Insider. "Also,
looking at my own life, I would drink my Soylent and I would pour
coffee, and I thought, Why can't I put them together?"

Rob
Rhinehart.Josh Edelson / Getty
Images

Rhinehart compares the taste of Coffiest to a dark, robust roast
with a hint of cocoa.

In addition to caffeine, Coffiest adds another trending
ingredient to the mix: L-theanine. It's an amino acid found
in green tea that's purported to cancel out the jitteriness often
associated with a caffeine buzz.There is
limited evidence this turbocharged combo actually works,
however.

Soylent fanatics — a group that, disclaimer,
includes me — won't be missing much if they switch to
Coffiest as part of their morning routine. The drink meets
20% of the daily recommended values for all essential
vitamins and minerals. It'smadefrom soy protein isolate, lab-made algae oil, and a
host of ingredients I can't pronounce.

Rhinehart says more Soylent flavors will also be released down
the line.

Coffiest is most likely a wildly better choice than
the sugary, caffeinated beverages you can find at a gas
station or convenience store. A bottled
Starbucks Frappuccino Coffee Drink contains
32 grams of sugar (more than the World Health
Organization's recommended daily
intake for adults and children), whereas Coffiest contains
9 grams.

The forthcoming salted caramel-flavored Soylent Bar will
have 250 calories and contain about one-eighth of
an average adult's recommended dietary needs. Rhinehart
described it as a "robust snack" rather than a full meal.

"We see the drink as a full meal. Four-hundred calories is
definitely going to fill you up. The bar fits into that by being
very portable, light, and convenient," he says.

In
July, this photo of a "Food Bar" made by Soylent, allegedly,
leaked on Reddit.Reddit/ironchief89

Part of the appeal of Soylent, until now, has been its
simplicity. You grab it from the fridge and know exactly what
you're getting — a milky, slightly sweet mixture that fills you
with 20 grams of protein and 400 calories. It's a
one-size-fits-all alternative to any meal of the day.

Coffiest and the Soylent Bar introduce the first element
of choice into the company's product line. That
might seem counterintuitive — why not make eating well
a no-brainer, with no decisions involved? But Rhinehart
says the expansion answers a call from customers who are
craving variety over simplicity.

Just don't expect Soylent to launch a variety pack anytime
soon.

"We definitely want to keep our core of being simple, clean,
consistent," Rhinehart says. "We're not going to have a
huge inventory and hundreds of different options, but a
little bit of variety will give users some choice and hopefully
increase the usage."